COVERING CHINA

1
COVERING CHINA

• WTO, Business and Finance
• (JMSC 6027)
• Nailene Chou Wiest

2
Class Rules

• Find partner to make class presentations (10 pct)
  of your grades
• Choose three versions of one story (can be a
  combination of English and Chinese texts) and
  compare
• Point of view
• Use of sources
• Sweeping generalizations
• Handling of details

3
Quizzes and papers

• Quizzes (20) are based on class material and
  presentations by guest speakers.
• Explore different points of view in short
  assignments (20)
• A long feature (50) use the unique Hong Kong
  vantage point.

4
Earn extra points

• Write about a guest speakers talk, his profile,
  students reactions, etc. for the intranet.
• You earn up to three points, but the real reward
  is in the satisfaction of writing a good story.

5
Sell Your China Stories

• China stories are hot and many foreign trade
  publications welcome free-lance stories.
• Cultivate your niche, build your expertise, and
  sell your China stories.

6
Foreign Correspondents

• Filter
• A profile coming from professional family, went
  to good school, majoring in humanities -- upper
  middle class views, progressive, a mild sense of
  superiority
• number decreasing, influence increasing

7
News Organizations

• Agencies, newspapers, broadcasters
• Corporate priorities
• Editorial policies
• Gate-keeping function -- another filter.
• National interest

8
What is reality?

• There is no objective truth.
• Bias, prejudice are given facts.
• Is the reporting FAIR?
• What kind of assumptions are there?
• Are the assertions backed up with sufficient
  facts?

9
US media on China

• Tiananmen
• Taiwan
• Tibet
• Trade
• Technology

10
Demonization of China

• Should you take a partisan view?
• US media portray China as a rogue state like
  Cuba, Liberia, etc.
• (Putative)Motivations bad image creates
  unfavorable investment climate, which slows
  Chinas economic growth and will lead to social
  instability -- China should be kept weak and
  divided.

11
Major Flaws

• Sharp on details, opaque on generalization
• High moral ground
• Gotcha!
• Use of language, loaded words
• Whats missing

12
Romantic tradition

• Legendary reporters of the 1930s
• Edgar Snow, Theodore White, etc.
• Fast forward to 1970s
• Fox Butterfield
• Tiananmen
• Kristoff, Chinoy
• Current Crop

13
The Economics Story

• Transformation of China
• Its the Economy, Stupid!
• WTO focuses attention
• Knowledge intensive economy

14
Number Game

• Statistics vs facts
• Triangulation a method of arriving at
  approximate truth
• Understand available information, corroborate and
  interpret
• Do you see hidden value?

15
Asian Model of Capitalism

• Front-door vs Back-door
• Trust plays a larger role than in western
  societies
• Group dynamics vs individual responsibilities
• Ownership who really owns? Where does the power
  reside?

16
Resources

• People in the know
• publicly available data
• meaning and significance
• analytical framework
• comparative perspective

17
You can do it!

• Base on facts
• Access to sources
• Challenge assumptions
• Define the situation
• Discern possibilities for action
• Closely argued, skillfully presented